Cellular hypersensitivity to nervous antigens in Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Cell-mediated immune responses to various nervous antigens were examined in 12 cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), 24 cases of noninflammatory peripheral neuropathy (NIPN), and 18 cases of degenerative disorders of central nervous system (CNSDD), using the lymphocyte-transformation technique. Cellular hypersensitivity to bovine P2 protein (P2) and a synthetic peptide, SP66-78, corresponding to the residues 66-78 of P2, was detected in about two-thirds of GBS cases, especially in the active or improving stages, but not in NIPN and CNSDD. The lymphocytes sensitized to these nervous antigens might play an important role in the pathogenesis of GBS.